An organic component can be an optoelectronic component which emits or absorbs light. The organic component is for example an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a photodetector or a solar cell.
Organic components usually consist of active layers having a thickness in the range of less than 1 μm and during production are therefore particularly sensitive to contamination by particles of comparable orders of magnitude. Typical failures resulting from particles are short circuits or thin film encapsulation faults, as a result of which a total failure of the organic component can occur. Production (which includes a processing, for example) is usually carried out in a particle-reduced environment, for example in a clean room or in a vacuum. A carrier substrate, also referred to hereinafter as substrate, and a covering substrate are usually provided. Even if hereinafter glass, for example referred to as cap glass, is mentioned in the exemplary embodiments, nevertheless it should be pointed out that other materials can also be provided as a covering substrate, for example a plastics film. The carrier substrate and the covering substrate are usually transported such that the side sensitive to particles faces downward. However, contamination with particles cannot be completely avoided by means of these measures. A certain resistance of a layer to be formed vis à vis damage resulting from small particles can be achieved at the expense of higher costs resulting from the provision of a relatively thick so-called buffer layer, for example an organic buffer layer.
Usually, production of an organic component is followed by metrological detection of whether the organic component has defects caused by particles, the organic component then being sorted out, if appropriate.